I don't even know what to say... this wasn't good? It wasn't really bad either, though. Weird how the whole time travel (or not) thing was what made the most sense in the whole book. ( )

I am not usually a big YA fan, but I genuinely enjoyed this novel about a boy with memories of the future. Anyone who enjoys books about time travel would likely enjoy this book. ( )

So I'm not even gonna lie folks. I bought this book completely and solely out of cover lust. I mean, come on! Just look at it! Absolutely stunning. The fact that it was only 99 cents didn't hurt either. I did read the blurb, and it sounded so good. So intriguing. So confusing.

And confusing it was.

Basically it goes something like this: Lucas and Juliette are opposites. He is a star hockey player on the schools team. She is a star student. Entirely devoted to her studies. One thing they share: a startling attraction to each other. However something is off. Lucas, though having never met Juliette before, swears he remembers her. Thier first kiss. Thier entire relationship. Rather than being totally freaked out. Juliette is intrigued and her and Lucas embark on a beautiful love affair all while trying to unravel the mystery of his memories of them and the elicit dreams that haunt him everynight. Can they work together to uncover the truth behind Lucas's memeories? Or is their young love doomed before it has a chance to blossom?

Yes. I know that was very vague, but I like to write my own overviews. And this book was pretty vague. For about 60% of this book, I was reading and still had no clue what was going on. I mean it was written there in plain black and white. It was easy to follow, I knew what was happening, but I didn't understand how lucas's memories tied into the actual story. There were times I felt like just putting it away bc it felt like any other contemporary romance, except at the end of each chapter you were being left with a sentence or phrase that assured this story would not be a happy ending. Was this a happy ending? I really can't say bc the ending leaves you hanging.

How to even write this. This would be so much easier for me to write if I didn't have such mixed emotions. Yes emotions. Because on one hand, this book took me back to a bittersweet time in my life. I was 16 and in love for the first time and so blissfully unaware of the pure hell I was about to have to endure as a result of that. (A story for another time.) On the other hand, I was so furious because I simply couldn't piece it all together. Even after finishing I had to sit and think about it for days. Not because I was so astonished but bc I simply could not wrap my mind around how everything tied together.

There's really not too much I can say. For one, there's no possible way to type it out and have it make sense. Secondly I am still unsure.

Let me review the parts I can write out. The relationship between Juliette and Lucas: very sweet yet, intense. They became quite attached to one another, rather quickly. I love how thier romance literally drew me back into my own experiences. In this sense I couldn't help but relate to the characters and empathize with them. I knew heartache was coming. I really have no one to blame but myself, but I was sucked in and it did hurt.

Even though Lucas has apparently already lived out Thier entire relationship. He makes it clear that the first time around was less than spectacular and that this time they are almost two different people. Even though Thier demise is inevitable, thier feelings for one another run deep and they are both determined to make things work this time. Personally I thought this was time travel novel. It's not..ish. I am not even kidding when I say there's no way to explain this one to you. I tried to tell a friend and she was so lost, as was I listening to myself explain it. One thing is clear: this is a romance. Most of the book is pretty chill. There's no big action or violence. So if that is more of your thing, you might want to steer clear of this one.

I know this review makes it sound like I totally appalled this book. I didn't. I actually really enjoyed it. It just seemed a little off pace to me. For over half off the book you have this mystery. At the end of each chapter it looks like your finally about to figure a piece out. But you don't. Then suddenly everything changes right at the end of the book and from there the last few chapters felt rushed and I was still no closer to being able to put the pieces together. This one was a tricky one. Maybe it was just too complex (which its not, it was a easy read) for my mind to wrap around. ( )

"I said I would never forget. And I didn’t.
Lucas: I remember you."

2015 Reading Challenge #04: A book published this year.

Cuando Lucas le dice a Juliet que todo lo que están viviendo ahora ya lo vivieron antes, que él lo recuerda, Juliet se siente aterrada. ¿Está Lucas loco, tiene un tumor, se golpeó la cabeza? Lógicamente, Juliet no puede creerle, peeero eso no le impide enamorarse de él. Y pronto se ven envueltos en una relación intensa y obsesiva.

"What I really wanted from Lucas was Lucas. Undiluted, uncopied, unphotographed, unprocessed Lucas. I didn’t want to share him. I wanted it to be just him and me. Alone."

(Ahora, antes de que comiencen a juzgar, recuerden: los adolescentes no siempre son las criaturas más inteligentes. Si puedes aceptar eso, puedes disfrutar este libro.)

Al pasar los días, Lucas comienza a tener cada vez más "recuerdos", y es capaz de predecir cosas antes de que pasen: el incendio de una casa, la separación de sus padres... su muerte. Y el peso de este nuevo conocimiento comienza afectar su relación con Juliet. Él solo quiere olvidar, y ella —por momentos— solo quiere olvidarlo.

"I wanted to be the self I was before Lucas, before his secrets, before everything had gotten so complicated. Or at least, I sort of wanted that. I didn’t want it enough to give Lucas up."

El libro está escrito como si Juliet estuviera escribiendo la historia para Lucas. Y aunque tal vez para algunos pueda parecer un poco lento, a mí me gustó bastante. El plot es original y me encantó la explicación de como Lucas tiene todos esos recuerdos.

“When you die, you do see your life flash before your eyes,” Lucas said.
“Okay,” I said.
“The flashing—it’s where you and I are right now. All this time that we’ve been together, I’ve been in Baghdad too, or somewhere, dying. Seeing you, being here—it’s been a gift. From… the universe.”

Amo cuando los libros logran confundirme y sorprenderme, y tal vez es porque comencé este con cero expectativas, pero este realmente me sorprendió. Todo es una gran paradoja, pero who cares?

La historia transcurre a lo largo de varios años, y los personajes no permanezcan estáticos, sino que realmente crecen. Maduran, se dan cuenta de sus errores y cambian la dinámica de sus relaciones. Las consecuencias de ese crecimiento, aunque era obviamente necesario, me pusieron bastante sentimental.



Recomendable si te gustó [b:The Time Traveler's Wife|18619684|The Time Traveler's Wife|Audrey Niffenegger|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1380660571s/18619684.jpg|2153746], te gustan los YA y puedes tolerar actitudes adolescentes en su máxima expresión.
( )

I said "Do you remember if we ever felt like this? Before?"
I spoke my question as quietly as I could while still allowing Lucas to hear. I wasn't sure he was going to know what I meant, but I couldn't stand to be more specific. I leaned my nose into the soft skin just below his shoulder and breathed.
"It wasn't like this," he said. "It was never, ever like this."

Lucas has deja vu. All the time. He knows that his relationship with Juliet isn't the together-forever type, although he wants it to be. He knows how good his hockey team is going to do his Senior year. And he knows how he's going to die. Each new memory, each detail, comes on like a vivid dream but causes debilitating headaches. His past is now his future and Lucas wants to make changes if he can.

People ask me why I read YA books. I love the angst. They're so good at that. And this one, well, it has it in spades. When I came across the title, I saw a blurb that said it was a young The Time [Traveler's Wife]. Well, that sold me. TTTW is one of my all-time favorite novels. And the movie still makes me cry.
It's not the same "method" as TTTW in that Lucas does not pop back and forth from past-present-future. Lucas' situation is more like a possession by his older self - think J-Horror and you get the right idea.

It isn't a must-own for me but I did enjoy it and am glad that I read it. If this is your kind of thing, I encourage you to give it a try. ( )